So, we finally bought ourselves a pumpkin and immediately cut him open. All I was thinking about was the love affair I would soon be having with those seeds. Every year, my mother and I would carve a pumpkin and bake its seeds. SOO YUMMY! After about an hour of manual labor cutting, scooping, carving, and separating here’s what we came up with for our very first pumpkin.

cute, huh

Jon designed it, I thought it came out pretty cute. After that was done, I went to work in the kitchen separating the guts from the seeds. I then laid the seeds out on parchment paper and let them dry overnight. When I woke up this morning, I immediately checked on them… they were ready for cookin’. When we came back from our two-mile walk, I tossed the seeds in olive oil, garlic salt, pepper, sea salt, paprika, and some slap yo’ mama spices. The slap yo’ mama spices are a New Orleans thing and are a great addition to any dish. I then baked at 250 F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. And here they are…

🙂

OH. MY. GOSH. They are delicious! I immediately started in on them as soon as they came out of the oven. I personally like them best when they are still warm. I don’t think they will see tomorrow as I am doing a number on them as I write. The only thing I would do differently is cut out the sea salt. The garlic sat and other spices are salty enough. I will definitely be getting me another pumpkin even if it is just for the seeds. Two days ago I gave a shot at making a pumpkin ginger bread and it came out very dry and floury, if that’s even a word. I am making it my mission to make a pumpkin bread of some sort that will just blow my socks off.

We finally got in late Sunday night. I’ve been playing catch up ever since. However, I did manage to make some yummy meals over the last couple days. I started my week off with a barley mushroom soup, complimentary of my beloved whole foods 🙂

barley mushroom soup, yuum

I must admit, I cheated a bit on this one. The soup was already put together, I just added seasoning and water and boiled for 45 minutes. The ingredients consisted of barley, mushrooms, carrots & corn. It hit the spot as I was not feeling very well after the stuffy 13 hour drive.

Earlier today, I was craving my usual veggie selection. I go to the local farmers market every week and pick up my green bell peppers, garlic, onions & sweet peppers. These are my basic vegetables that I never get tired of. With my basics in my basket, I then seek out my craving of the week (eggplant, mushrooms, asparagus, and on occasion fruit). I took out my frying pan and mixed the following:

This was good, but I would opt for leaving the vinaigrette out next time. I keep my recipes pretty simple and easy. On the other hand, I’ve been dying for some pumpkin! I picked up 2 cans of pumpkin puree that I cannot wait to crack open and use for something delicious. I’m thinking some killer agave pumpkin ginger bread, mmmm 😉

Day two and I’m still here! hah… I am currently down in Florida at my mom’s house. I’ve been here for a little over a week and a half trying to get trained for a job working from home. Fortunately, I will be working for Jon’s mother… that will make it a little easier when it comes to taking time off 😉 I came down here alone with Ruca, my pup. She was such a little trooper during the 14 hour ride. Thank goodness I have my husband flying down tomorrow to drive us back up on Sunday because I’m just not certain I could make another long roadtrip alone.

I have not really had the opportunity to go crazy on any food concoctions lately. My mom has a few things to work with here but not what I’m craving. I’ve been living off of chicken pesto goat cheese sandwiches on a nut bread. Not too shabby but let me tell ya, after a few days of this in a row, it dulls my taste buds. So, to spice it up a bit, I added some Annie’s Organic Oil & Vinegar Dressing. Oh man, did that make a difference! I can’t wait to get home and cook up something tasty. My mom treated me to a wholefoods lunch the other day and I picked up some MUCH NEEDED dry groceries to take back up with me. So sad there isn’t a whole foods near by in VA Beach because that lunch was the best thing I’ve eaten in months!

I took the plunge and signed up for my very own blog. After reading a few from this website, I must say, it inspired me. I’ll keep it sweet and simple for the first couple entries to allow myself to become familiar with the process. I look forward to meeting new people and sharing new and exciting recipes!